Background Cough is frequently caused by drugs. However, little is known about the epidemiology and causative drugs leading to cough. We analyzed causative drugs and clinical features of drug-induced cough based on 10-year real-world data. Methods We used the database of the Korea Adverse Events Reporting System (KAERS) from January 2009 to December 2018. Cases of drug-induced cough were identified by selecting cases with a cough code of WHO-Adverse Response Terminology without any other adverse events. Causative drugs were compared between acute (<3 weeks) and delayed onset (≥3 weeks). Results In the study period of 10 years, there were 3,021 cases of drug-induced cough. Cough was most frequently caused by cardiovascular drugs (43.8%), followed by respiratory system drugs (14.9 %), including angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, antineoplastic and immune-modulating drugs (14.4 %), and anti-infective drug (8.3 %). In acute onset cough, perindopril, docetaxel, ramipril, paclitaxel, and acetylcysteine were found to be frequent causes, while delayed onset cough was commonly caused by perindopril, ramipril, indacaterol, captopril, and imidapril. Conclusion In this analysis of real-world data from a nationwide spontaneous reporting system, various drugs were found to cause cough, while cardiovascular drugs including ACE inhibitors were the most common cause. [This study was funded by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) as ‘‘the Environmental Health Action Program (2016001360003)" and a research grant from the Korea Institute of Drug Safety & Risk Management].